You may have been meaning to learn a new skill for a long time and not know exactly how to start.
Today it is easier than ever to learn new skills. There is an abundance of free information on platforms like you tube and google, as well as many low priced courses on the internet.
Private lessons and course are great, but often very expensive and not always necessary to get started learning most skills.
I’ve always had a passion for learning and never had a crazy amount of money to spend so I had to find a way to teach myself a lot of skills with very little money.
Having learned many different types of skills I came to learn that the process for learning each one was very similar. It doesn’t really matter what kind of skill you are learning there are ways to ensure that you learn it quickly and correctly.
Here are six ways to learn new skills quickly and effectively.
1) Set aside Time to learn the New Skill
This may sound obvious, but so many people say they want to learn a skill and never actually set aside a realistic time to practice that skill.
I believe the very first step to learning a new skill should be planning how you are going to fit it into your schedule.
No matter how much research you do, without practice you will not learn a skill.
It takes thirty days for something to become a habit so you are not miraculously going to fit the time into your schedule to learn a new skill without a little thought and planning in the beginning.
Look at your own schedule and determine a time you will designate to practicing the skill and stick to it. It does not have to be every day but consistency is very important. If you can only practice one day a week then stick to that.
Making a schedule and putting time to learn a skill in your schedule makes it much more likely to happen.
If you’ve ever listened to someone talking about learning skill that they haven’t gotten around to for years, you’ll notice they never talk about an actual time they are going to make time for it. The verbiage usually goes “Oh, one of these days I’ll start…..” As you know that day rarely ever comes.
On the other hand, if someone says I am going to dedicated an hour this Thursday into practicing a new skill, then chances are they are serious about it.
Even if it is just five minutes a week it is so important to have a time slot picked out to practice, and preferably in less than a weeks time.
2) Learn the Fundamentals of the Skill
After you have decided when you can realistically practice the new skill you want to learn, it is important to find out what exactly you are going to practice.
With any skill that are fundamental elements that need to be learned first, before moving onto the more complex aspects of that skill
There are usually specific practices that will help to develop the fundamentals of whatever skill you are learning.
For instance, in ballet, barre exercises help reinforce the fundamentals of the craft, ie. posture and body position. That’s why every class includes them.
The most fundamental part of knitting it is learning the two basic stitches, the knit and pearl stitch. In Martial arts, it is stances and kicks.
A good way to find out what the fundamentals of a skills it is to find out what beginners are doing. Look for beginning tutorials.
If you know someone who knows the skill you could ask them what they learned first, and what exercise they had to hone it.
3) Get the Bare amount of Tools Necessary
When you have found out the fundamental exercises to practice, make sure you have the tools necessary to do so. Do not spend an exorbitant amount of money on this. After all, you might not even want to pursue it for very long. You do not need to have every single tool either.
So many people use the excuse of not having every tool necessary to start a new skill. Just start with the basics necessary to get started and go from there.
4) Start Practicing Right away
As soon as you know the fundamentals of what you need to learn and the tools to do so, then dive into learning the skill
Don’t get hung up on doing research or trying to learn everything there is to know about the skill
It is great to get other people’s opinions on a skill, especially if they are proficient at the skill you want to learn, but if you are spending too much time researching and having the perfect tools before getting started then it is not helping you.
It is so easy to get overwhelmed when you first start a new skill because there is so much to learn. You do not have to learn it all at once.
I have watched so many videos and tutorials from people saying all the things they wish they’d known when they got started learning a skill, but the truth is sometimes just diving in an learning as you go is the best way to learn.
I’m not saying not to listen to people’s advice and learning everything you can, but if it is causing overwhelm and lack of motivation, than it is better to just step back and get your own feet wet.
5) Don’t be afraid of sucking
If you are learning a new skill most likely you are going to suck at it, and you are going to suck at it for awhile. THis is okay, because that’s what learning is. If you already knew how to do something, you would have to learn it.
I really feel like this is a big reason am able to learn new skills is because I am not afraid of sucking at first. Not being as good as someone that has practiced the same skill for years doesn’t bother me one iota.
I see it all the time with people who are afraid to learn a new skill. They don’t want to be embarrassed so they never even try. It’s actually really sad because as human beings we are meant to explore and learn new things.
One thing that can help break this barrier is to look at the earlier work of people who are very good at the skill you want to learn.
Whether it is blogging, dancing, video making etc.. it doesn’t matter. No one starts out perfect at what they do. If you think you have to be perfect before starting something you will never start because it is not possible.
6) Don’t rush
Spend time learning the basics of the skill you want to learn before moving on. and
As they say, a house without a solid foundation is not good. (Something like that)
Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to learn every little nuance of the skill. Simply spend the time necessary to learn the basics before moving on.
This will also keep up morale. Most skills have many components. Trying to shove too much information into your brain at once will lead to burnout and possibly quitting before you even get started.
Know that learning a skill does not happen overnight. Many skills take at least a year of solid practice to even become proficient. This is especially true of learning an instrument or any kind of dance or martial arts.
Be patient, and know that the results will come!